falling free

"Is this what you were looking for?" Spoiler asked, the question muffled from behind the mask that covered the lower half of her face. Pulling the usb drive out of one of her hidden pockets, she flashed the metallic object at Nightwing, a hidden smirk dancing across his lips up into her eyes. "Because this looked important and you look stressed so girl math dictates you might be looking for this."

“I knew what I was getting into.” Jim smiled faintly at the younger man and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s part of the job.” At least around Gotham, it was. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his jaw, which still ached from where the perp had slugged him. The man had managed to get a shot in before being shoved into a holding cell. “People don’t usually say thank you,” he said, with another half-smile. “Especially not when you’re shoving them into holding.” He wondered idly if it would bruise -- it wouldn’t be his first in the line of duty, and almost definitely wouldn’t be the last -- before looking back at Dick. “Can I help you with anything, Dick?”

YOU

❝ You’ll move past it . ❞

❝ Nice place you have here . ❞

❝ Your taste is very discerning . ❞

❝ You can run but you can’t hide . ❞

❝ You stay .  But no more surprises . ❞

❝ You guys act like there’s rules to this but then nobody ever explains what they are . ❞

❝ You are a little high strung right now, so please calm down, clean yourself up, and stay out of sight . ❞

❝ Oh man ,  you are killing it ! ❞

❝ There you are ! ❞

❝ Your jaw is tense ,  your hand is shaking .  You’re ashamed . ❞

❝ You’re not that person anymore .  And that speaks volumes . ❞

❝ You don’t have to do this ! ❞

ME

❝ Ohhh, hard dibs ! ❞

❝ I won’t mess it up . ❞

❝ My frickin’ arm’s tired . ❞

❝ Maybe I am a little bit nervous . ❞

❝ Okay ,  but I do ALL the talking . ❞

❝ Yeah ,  I had to level up my game . ❞

❝ Come on ,  I can do this ,  I’m ready ! ❞

❝ I decided not to care .  I didn’t care who I hurt . ❞

❝ I saw a chance to make just a little bit of it right . ❞

❝ If there’s one thing I know ,  it’s how to schmooze dirtbags . ❞

❝ Ugh I hate business clothes ,  they make me feel so starchy . ❞

❝ What the hell ?  I stood over there for three hours for this ?? ❞

❝ You know ,  I used to go to these parties and just become this person that I hate . ❞

❝ I know ,  I screwed up . ❞

❝ Sorry about that ,  just a little uh … a little unsteady there . ❞

❝ I’m the one that almost died and I’m the one who almost went to prison ! ❞

❝ Yeah I got a little bit out of my lane right there . ❞

❝ I’m gonna go after him . ❞

❝ I feel like I should say something to them . ❞

❝ I don’t want money or revenge .  I just don’t want this to happen again . ❞

❝ I reserve the right to push them off the roof if they screw up again . ❞

YOU AND ME

❝ We lost . ❞

❝ I’m not going to let us fail . ❞

❝ Wow ,  this really is our day . ❞

❝ You and me :  the perfect team . ❞

❝ We’re gonna need more money . ❞

❝ We control them until it’s too late . ❞

❝ We’re not heroes .  We’re just necessary . ❞

❝ And that’s exactly what we got :  nothing . ❞

❝ For what it’s worth ,  we’ve all got regrets . ❞

❝ We’re gonna mess this guy up pretty hard . ❞

❝ You know I am certain that we have friends in common . ❞

❝ Yeah that last name thing ?  That’s kinda spooky, let’s not do that anymore . ❞

❝ We’re prepped .  We just have to … execute . ❞

❝ Our plan is working . ❞

❝ Uh ,  we’re running out of time . ❞

❝ I think I owe you an apology . ❞

❝ We don’t keep things from each other . ❞

❝ Please ,  I want to help .  But you gotta come clean . ❞

❝ Our plan is working . ❞

❝ Your screw-ups make me look good . ❞

❝ You always say you’re gonna fix things ,  and I tell you no ,  but you don’t listen to me ! ❞

❝ It would be an honor to show you around ! ❞

❝ I don’t care ,  just get it done .  Time is money . ❞

❝ You’ve been invited to a party .  We never say no to parties . ❞

❝ I did my job and I did it well .  And I guess I just didn’t want you to look at me and … know that . ❞

❝ You can’t keep stuff like this from me . ❞

QUESTIONS

❝ Little jumpy, huh ? ❞

❝ Wait .  Who are you ? ❞

❝ Something you forgot to mention ? ❞

❝ Great .  What if they find something wrong ? ❞

❝ Are we the … bad guys here ? ❞

❝ Why do bad things always happen to me ? ❞

❝ A party ?  Why’d they invite you ? ❞

❝ Are you sure you can handle this ? ❞

❝ How did you learn to live with what you’ve done ? ❞

❝ And why are we going through the service entrance ? ❞

❝ So, shall we discuss the terms of this partnership ? ❞

❝ Is uh … is something wrong ? ❞

❝ You really didn’t feel that ?  The whole floor shook ! ❞

❝ Maybe just a little too much champagne ? ❞

❝ What happened to you ?  What are you, drunk ? ❞

MISC.

❝ It’s not part of the plan . ❞

❝ It’ll take five minutes, in and out . ❞

❝ If it was easy ,  it wouldn’t be fun . ❞

❝ The timing here has to be perfect . ❞

❝ This thing could withstand the apocalypse . ❞

❝ Really ?  Bit behind the times . ❞

❝ This thing is way more expensive than I thought . ❞

❝ It’s a little noisy ,  but it really feels like you’re in the city . ❞

❝ This painting really makes me consider the juxtaposition between chaos and order . ❞

❝ The  ( man / woman / person )’s trying to make amends ,  that means something to me . ❞

❝ I like to think it captures the essence of American masculinity ,  challenged by the modern paradigm . ❞

❝ Old money family ,  posh education ,  did a year at the Royal College of Art in London so they think they have taste . ❞

❝ That’s a targeted subsonic projector .  It interferes with the fluid in your inner ear and the vibrations give you vertigo . ❞

❝ I still think chopsticks would work though . ❞

❝ And … it’s a bust . ❞

❝ Just chill out .  This place is safe . ❞

❝ That is most definitely a brag . ❞

❝ The people who are dead … are dead .  They don’t matter . ❞

❝ This guy’s more selfish than I anticipated . ❞

❝ Hit him again ! ❞

❝ This is so much better in person ! ❞

❝ It’s not perfect ,  but it is a win . ❞

❝ That sentence hurts my brain . ❞

❝ Loud noises bring back some pretty gnarly memories . ❞

❝ Little by little you get a piece of your soul back . ❞

❝ It’s a work in progress ,  I know . ❞

"Such a wordsmith, dude. Sick!" He plops his umbrella into the drink that's placed in front of him, taking a sip. "Dunno why I even waste my money, I metabolize this stuff so fast." Still, he liked the fruity drinks, they tasted nice.

"You held down the fort while I was down okay? Hope ya didn't miss me too much."

Dick told him that he tried to find him and he let out a gentle hum, "Oh... don't blame yourself. You couldn't have found me, no matter how hard you looked." He told his old friend. "I was hiding from my brother. I've always been very good at hiding. Remember?" He reminded him playfully, referencing the games of hide and seek they used to play as young kids and the reason he'd been so good at it to begin with.

His hand moved along his friend's upper back. Along his well defined muscles and it was clear to him then that Dick Grayson was still an acrobat. He thought to look for him once before after he'd been adopted into a wealthy family. He recalled leaving his new home and walking for miles after he heard his name in the news. He was Bruce Wayne's ward but when he finally reached the gates... something in him told him to walk back without reintroducing himself as Xander Wilde. Part of it was because he didn't know how Dick would react to being confronted with his past- but most of it was out of fear. If anyone knew that he was actually Jeremiah Valeska... it could put him in danger some day. It could get out to Jerome somehow. Even as a kid he'd been too scared of Jerome to risk it. So, he'd walked back and he cut that string of fate that tied them together. Forgetting all about it. Until now.

"Don't be. I told you already... I didn't want to be found. Not by anyone." He whispered to him, close enough to his ear that he knew Dick would hear him. "But I want to be found now." He could have kept hugging him forever. Clinging to him until he had no other choice but to let go but even he knew that was long enough. Slowly, he let go of Dick and pulled himself back from him. Reaching up to adjust his glasses and keeping a hand on his shoulder. Even if he was done hugging, he wasn't done touching him yet. "I'd love to hear it. Maybe over a drink?"

He didn't have dreams about Jeremiah being alive. Mostly because Dick hadn't considered it was possible. Not when Jerome was as he was. Rather, his dreams had been spent in memories. Chasing each other around the circus, playing hide and seek, laughing and jumping and all around brightness. When he wasn't lost in memories, Dick had felt like a ghost. Sitting beside a young Jeremiah, his mind refusing to use the adult picture as Jerome as a stand in for who Jeremiah could have become. Face sharing be damned, he was his own man. Not a copy of someone else, nor was Jerome a copy of him. The twins couldn't be more different if they tried. Dick had known that since he was little and could tell them apart effortlessly. It always felt easy to him. Jerome was Jerome and Jeremiah was Jeremiah. It needn't become more complicated then that.

"Yeah... I do. Always kicked my ass in hide and seek." Given they were constantly on the move, changing locations, with so much space everywhere--- yeah, Jeremiah kicked ass at hide and seek. Dick was never much good at staying quiet, and would often be found fast. When he could stay quiet, he would become lonely speedily and expose himself impatiently. There was a reason he once wore red, it was because it wasn't in his nature to fall into the shadows. Or at least, back then, it hadn't been.

He never thought he would hear Jeremiah's voice again outside of his memory or dreams. So once more, Dick brought him in close tightly, with an urgency pulling him in. Taking in the moment, valuing what he thought was gone forever. "I'm not anyone, you- you..." A weak but fond chuckle left him. "I've said it before, I'll say it again, for someone so smart sometimes you could be so stupid. If I knew--- I wouldn't let anything happen to you, I won't let anything happen to you." Jerome would be faced with one hell of a surprise if he went after Jeremiah again. Dick had already lost his friend once, he wasn't here for a repeat performance. "If Jerome-- if anyone tries something... well, they'll have to get past me first." Not just as Detective Grayson either, Nightwing would be having Jeremiah's back. Even if it meant calling in reinforcements, from the Batfamily to the Justice League, Dick didn't want to mourn Jeremiah again. He refused.

Another thing he didn't want to do, let go of him. He followed suite of Jeremiah letting go, but the touch wasn't without a shortcoming of pace, slowly pulling back and disconnecting despite the want to do anything but. Dick wasn't the same as he once was. They weren't the same. But it didn't mean something terrible, it just meant they would find something new. "I can't believe it... look at you." His hand raised to Jeremiah's cheek, prodding at it with an intimacy Dick would typically try to hide outside of his Nightwing persona. Dick Grayson was supposed to be the more serious one, and yet here he was pulling at his friend's cheek. His grin was nothing but tenderness and warmth. "I've missed you Jeremiah."

His old friend. Who was quickly getting off his stool to greet him. He said that he was alive and his brows furrowed with confusion. Was he confusing him with his twin? It was Jerome who died. He looked over his corpse. All sprawled out on that indented car roof. "What? Of course I'm-" He said briefly, before he realized. "Oh." He must have thought Jerome killed him years ago. He didn't realize that Jeremiah was smart enough to keep hidden.

Dick moved towards him quickly and his instinct was to step back from him. Until his arms wrapped around his form and held him still. He wasn't touched like this in a very long time. Years and years of solitude underground would do that to someone. Jerome had been touchy of course, when he finally saw him again but it wasn't gentle like this. It wasn't... kind. Slowly, Jeremiah raised his arms and wrapped them around his oldest friend. Wondering if he could feel how chilled his skin had become, because he could sure feel Dick's body heat. He leaned his chin against his shoulder and sunk into the embrace.

This would feel nice. Really nice. If he could feel it the way he should have been. The numbness he felt after his emotional, manic outburst had left him practically devoid of feeling. Still, he thought he felt a flicker of something. A warmth he hadn't felt in a very long time. All he wanted was a sense of connection. For someone to care about him. Like Dick seemed to. After all this time...

He tightened his grip on his friend. Suddenly desperate not to lose him and his lips tugged into a smile. "Where have you been hiding?"

The days of Hayley's Circus were full of joy for Dick. Riding on elephants, seeing the stars, flying in the air, traveling to new places and abroad. Until his parents plummeted to their deaths, it had been a wonderful childhood. Dick was aghast to say, however, he knew not everyone had known the happiness he'd had in those years before the flying Graysons flew no longer. Jeremiah was not one so lucky, nor was Jerome truly. He had been too young to do anything about it, to think deeper then the surface level. It was a long time afterward, when Dick had been thinking about the twins, he realized hard truths that escaped his young mind. He wondered, if he'd known as a child, would he have been able to help? It was too late to change but Dick still felt the want to rescue them despite himself. Even Jerome. The person he'd been before he snapped.

"I tried to find you." Dick confessed, and more then he wanted- emotions seeped into his tone. Relief, deep with guilt that mixed into the fabric of his being. "I tried so hard. I wanted to believe you were okay but--- " But Jerome had gone a killing spree that included--- that started with the twin's own mother. Drawing one conclusion to another wasn't a hard line to find, nor was it an unlikely one.

"I'm sorry." Dick said. "For not trying sooner." Maybe if he had reached out before Jerome got to his breaking point things would have turned out differently. Back then, after losing his parents, Dick had been too blind with grief to see much else. Becoming Robin had become a coping mechanism, and though he eventually dealt with his grief it wasn't without distance from the old life he once lived. Distance that made it far easier to forget never having said goodbye. "To find you, I mean." Dick clarified, he still felt off kilter in his shock at seeing Jeremiah alive.

They had never been the hugging type as kid, well Dick had always been affectionate Jeremiah had been less so. Looking back, Dick didn't blame him for his lack of wanting. But, in this moment, the tightness of the hug felt good. A wonderful reminder that not only Jeremiah was alive, but that he was here. "Boy do I have a story for you..."

"Star," It was a nickname from youth and it hadn't meant to leave him. Dick was usually better at secret identities then to let slip such a thing, but seeing her couldn't help but take him aback. It had been so long since they had seen each other face to face let alone had a conversation. It made him wistful of the old days, when life had been a lot more simple. "Kori." He amended himself, deciding he would cover it up as a nickname if anyone cared to ask. "I can't believe you're here, in Gotham." Then again he himself was supposed to be stationed in Bludhaven and yet-- "What are you doing here? I mean, I'm happy to see you." He needed to make that clear, he didn't want her to feel unwelcome at all. "But I'm just surprised is all."